Bitcoin user adoption is horrible - here is why:

[gkv9]

It ain't a bad thing I guess, if we see more and more mediators...
These are just trying to just spread the word, not like us who are common man and can't spread the word out a lot...
They have the ability to do so, so you can't say its adoption ain't a good thing...

[Stedsm]

The adoption of bitcoin is slow, but it will be faster as many more people know the bitcoin. I expect several companies will pay staff salary with bitcoin soon.

It is not slow, but steady.
It doesn't mean that if companies start paying salaries, then we may think that Bitcoins are adopted. It needs a lot more than this, it needs to become mainstream, needs to be used everywhere as money so to get seen and get the significance it needs.

[neochiny]

"Paul Puey, CEO of Airbitz, said in a blog post: "We are excited to announce that we've integrated Fold into our app! Now, you can buy gift cards for Starbucks and Target within the app in the same tab where you can buy and sell bitcoin through Glidera."

So, Fold is now integrated into Airbitz.  Use Glidera, to buy bitcoin to buy a gift card to use via Fold through your AirBitz wallet - to get a coffee! 

Get it?!  Neither do I.  The more ridiculous steps between being thirsty and getting a coffee - the less likely users will adopt the system.  This is just freaking horrible.  I am convinced that major players like AirBitz inability to see this will ultimately cause alienation of end users.  Even a hard core bitcoin nerd couldn't enjoy this transaction.  Real people would laugh their head off if you told them they should buy a coffee this way.  More steps and more middlemen?  = sure death. 

 you > Glidera > Fold > Airbitz > Starbucks 

forgetaboutit

well i do agree to you that this is really horrible.
but i think they just want to promote bitcoin.
but they are just not doing the right thing.
well still their doing their own advertising.

[QuestionAuthority]

I actually disagree. The current users are people who are money savvy - they always look for great ways to increase their wealth. But what if bitcoin attracted users a different way? Through their everyday lives? If shopkeepers provided some sort of small discount for bitcoin, bitcoin would shoot up. As in really, shoot up. We need another source of new users, and I think there are already a few that come naturally to mind.

*Coffeeeeeee...*

Yes more bitcoin retailers should be offering a discount for bitcoin spenders.  It is the only way bitcoin will be adopted by the masses.  USE BITCOIN GET 10% DISCOUNT this way millions of women will start using btc

As far as i know, that's the most effective way to increase bitcoin adoption, but it's not good enough.
People is too lazy to learn something new, especially if it looks complex, so retailers should also give easy tutorial about bitcoin.

So, the main problem of bitcoin adaption is lack of guide about bitcoin for newbie in bitcoin & laziness to learn/use something new.

Lazy is a big factor. I live in a city where parking is at a premium. I will pay $20 to park in the building I'm going to rather than walk two blocks for a $17 savings.

[oldbute]

In buying a coffee with BTC my main concern will be to have to pay at least 5 cents for a transaction fee.
By paying with card the merchant pays the fee while paying with BTC we pay the fees. I think that's the main adoption problem in buying a coffee with my bitcoin

I think you'll find merchants would give you discount to pay in bitcoin.  Lot of gas stations give cash discounts, the credit card fees are built into the prices, don't think your not paying them.

I would rather give .5 to a miner, give more money to the merchant and keep 3% away from the bank regardless.

[knightkon]

I too agree that these are too many steps between being thirsty and having a coffee. But if we don't go through this, we probably won't have sellers/retailers accepting Bitcoin soon... So this is a necessary evil, I think.

I agree that there are to many gears in this process, but we have to start somewhere and until there are active methods of adapting Bitcoin with easier steps, we have to got through the trial and error stages of this all.

[Karartma1]

In buying a coffee with BTC my main concern will be to have to pay at least 5 cents for a transaction fee.
By paying with card the merchant pays the fee while paying with BTC we pay the fees. I think that's the main adoption problem in buying a coffee with my bitcoin

I think you'll find merchants would give you discount to pay in bitcoin.  Lot of gas stations give cash discounts, the credit card fees are built into the prices, don't think your not paying them.

I would rather give .5 to a miner, give more money to the merchant and keep 3% away from the bank regardless.

I see what you mean but that is not so straightforward: I proposed to several merchants to start accepting BTC for their own good and to avoid to give their blood to MC/VISA etc.
But man, they are still afraid that BTC is used by terrorists... You see what the media do?

[Betwrong]

In buying a coffee with BTC my main concern will be to have to pay at least 5 cents for a transaction fee.
By paying with card the merchant pays the fee while paying with BTC we pay the fees. I think that's the main adoption problem in buying a coffee with my bitcoin

oh, c'mon! Do you really think 5 cents makes a big difference? I don't think so.

If we all want Bitcoin to be accepted more widely we should be ready to sacrifice a bit at least IMO and 5 cents is not a big sacrifice.

[Slark]

The adoption of bitcoin is slow, but it will be faster as many more people know the bitcoin. I expect several companies will pay staff salary with bitcoin soon.

It is not slow, but steady.
It doesn't mean that if companies start paying salaries, then we may think that Bitcoins are adopted. It needs a lot more than this, it needs to become mainstream, needs to be used everywhere as money so to get seen and get the significance it needs.

But we are not seeing much direct adoption, all we see is another bitcoin processor being used by some service.
This state of over complicated interaction between clients vs. services and merchants need to be cleared out somehow.

[ajareselde]

The adoption of bitcoin is slow, but it will be faster as many more people know the bitcoin. I expect several companies will pay staff salary with bitcoin soon.

It is not slow, but steady.
It doesn't mean that if companies start paying salaries, then we may think that Bitcoins are adopted. It needs a lot more than this, it needs to become mainstream, needs to be used everywhere as money so to get seen and get the significance it needs.

But we are not seeing much direct adoption, all we see is another bitcoin processor being used by some service.
This state of over complicated interaction between clients vs. services and merchants need to be cleared out somehow.

Maybe it's all it takes for bitcoin to go mainstream; giving holders of bitcoin opportunity to spend them shows them that they indeed have a value that can
be spent. And it doesn't even matter that much that the user is using third party to pay for items/services, because every now and then you will get certain
user that will then start using bitcoin as point of store of value - which is really what is causing bitcoin to be worth more.

[franky1]

ok folks alot of people are saying buy bitcoin to get discount on products..

so bitcoin is $450
so 0.1btc is $45
so 0.01btc is $4.50

lets say a large coffee is $4.50
which shop would sell a cup of coffee for 0.09btc(receive direct/no middleman). for the retailer to keep or to then converts to fiat the same day only getting $4.05

remember retailers would only accept bitcoin if they got full value.. not 90%.. thats just worse then credit card fee's..

im sorry but that then ruins any reason for merchant adoption. and thus eventually ruins bitcoins usefulness.. all because some idiot wants a quick promotion ploy to cause a pump and dump.
and the idea of using middlemen so the retailer doesnt even realise bitcoin is the currency used, as its pre converted.. doesnt help merchant adoption either, as its not real adoption

the only reason purse.io give discount is because they buy cheap giftcards with atleast 20% discount, and its on the fiat side of getting cheap second hand giftcards that discounts are possible.. not the bitcoin part.

infact people can, without even bothering with bitcoin, buy these giftcards cheap using just fiat. never having to even think about bitcoin.

anyone with some actual proper idea's? you know.. idea's that can make bitcoin acceptance a unique offering that cant be done via fiat

[btcxyzzz]

Go ask BitPay or GoCoin.  User adoption of bitcoin is near zero.  People don't actually use it.  The process needs to be simplified.  This is not a step in the right direction.  BitPay is also horrible.  Too many steps.

Process of Bitcoin payments through Mycelium can't be simpler, it's just that people need wages in Bitcoin, and that's when things will star to move. Until then it can serve only as a store of value or speculation vehicle.

[dannyman]

Maybe Bitcoin as a payment medium is the wrong role for a Bitcoin? I personally see Bitcoin literally as a digital gold, a store of wealth not affected by governments or counterpartys. Maybe the focus should be on that rather that Bitcoin as payment processor. I still say a Bitcoin backed bank is what is needed, they who cares if they use fiat as a processor, as long as they have Bitcoin backing it up.


Getgems is a user friendly way to use crypto in my opinion, search for the app on the App Store.

[Karartma1]

In buying a coffee with BTC my main concern will be to have to pay at least 5 cents for a transaction fee.
By paying with card the merchant pays the fee while paying with BTC we pay the fees. I think that's the main adoption problem in buying a coffee with my bitcoin

oh, c'mon! Do you really think 5 cents makes a big difference? I don't think so.

If we all want Bitcoin to be accepted more widely we should be ready to sacrifice a bit at least IMO and 5 cents is not a big sacrifice.

If you would drink at least three coffee a day (at least) like then we're talking about 15 cents that go in fees every day (just for coffee!). I want BTC to be accepted but if we start using it on a daily basis right now we should pay a lot of fees.

[CreativeCarol]

I don't really feel Bitcoin and its adopters have ever been too horrible. Bitcoin will have its flaws, just like anything else.

[lumeire]

I too agree that these are too many steps between being thirsty and having a coffee. But if we don't go through this, we probably won't have sellers/retailers accepting Bitcoin soon... So this is a necessary evil, I think.

Go ask BitPay or GoCoin.  User adoption of bitcoin is near zero.  People don't actually use it.  The process needs to be simplified.  This is not a step in the right direction.  BitPay is also horrible.  Too many steps.

What should happen is that bitcoin is totally eliminated from from the process, at least in the consumer's eyes. IMO bitcoin doesn't need to get mainstream. It needs to be the one running in the background, eliminating the extra costs, simplifying the process. What happens right now is the reverse. Until we can find a way to put the tech in use this way adoption would still be low.

[equator]

I too agree that these are too many steps between being thirsty and having a coffee. But if we don't go through this, we probably won't have sellers/retailers accepting Bitcoin soon... So this is a necessary evil, I think.

Go ask BitPay or GoCoin.  User adoption of bitcoin is near zero.  People don't actually use it.  The process needs to be simplified.  This is not a step in the right direction.  BitPay is also horrible.  Too many steps.

What should happen is that bitcoin is totally eliminated from from the process, at least in the consumer's eyes. IMO bitcoin doesn't need to get mainstream. It needs to be the one running in the background, eliminating the extra costs, simplifying the process. What happens right now is the reverse. Until we can find a way to put the tech in use this way adoption would still be low.

As per my view first the whole countrys of this world should accept the bitcoin technology and then only the users and retailers will start using it, because they will also not fear of the legal issues and taxation problems, because in some country still bitcoin is considered as illegal, so then how will the retailers will start to take bitcoin as their payment option in their business.

[Jet Cash]

I only read the first few post, andit seemed that most people were assuming this was a way to get a cup of coffee. I assumed it was a way to obtain a gift card to give to a friend. Presumably he takes the card to Starbucks, and they give him (or her) a coffee - a simple standard process. If Starbucks is aware that this method is popular, then maybe they will start sellling gift cards for Bitcoin.

[owm123]

Forcing yourself to use bitcoin when its clearly not practical, is pointless. Just like with everything, use a right tool for a given job.

Bitcoin is good in many things, but not suited for every single use case posbile. For example, its good for transferring money overseas , but not so good for buying a cup of coffee in your local coffee shop. Whats wrong with paying cash for coffee? Paying with cash also works without internet, which you cant say about bitcoin or credit cards.

[helloeverybody]

Id be happy being at the point where its used as a store of value and is stable. being a currency is obviously better because it can be used mostly everywhere but failing that i see no reason why it couldnt be used solely as a store of value even if that wasnt its intended use.